Snow Sisters: The Crystal Rose E-Book

Astrid Foss

• Herausgeber: Nosy Crow Ltd
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Serie: Snow Sisters
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 64

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

The second in the Snow Sisters series. Three brave sisters must race to discover their magical powers and save their home and their parents from the evil Shadow Witch! Luckily, they have a brave polar bear cub and a cast of cute snowy animals to help them... The evil Shadow Witch will do anything to stop the Snow Sisters from reaching the Everchanging Lights before her... On their second quest, the girls face a dark, icy journey to find the crystal rose and the blue Everchanging Light. Will their magic be strong enough to overcome the Great Glacier and all the dangers hidden there? Beautifully illustrated throughout by Monique Dong, this magical action-adventure with real heart is perfect for fans of Frozen. The Snow Sisters series will have 7+ readers hooked till the final page. Check out all the Snow Sisters' adventures! The Silver Secret, The Crystal Rose, The Frozen Rainbow and The Enchanted Waterfall.

Leseprobe

Magda focused on a nearby Arctic fox with a particularly fluffy coat. He looked at her with his sparkling dark eyes. As their gazes met she felt a tingling and the next moment she had transformed into a fox just like him!

Prologue

As the sun rose over the beautiful island of Nordovia, its golden rays lit up the icy mountain peaks, making them glitter and shine. Arctic hares hopped across the lowland plains, while polar bears emerged from their dens and rolled happily in the thick snow. In the villages, people were waking up, pulling on warm clothes and getting ready to start their day. Everything seemed normal. But something was wrong.

Very wrong.

The magical lights that usually swirled across the skies in Nordovia – the Everchanging Lights that kept everything in balance and made the island such a wonderful place to live – had dimmed from their usual bright pink, purple and blue to occasional pale flickers of colour.

In the north of the land, in a freezing ice cave carved into the side of a jagged mountain by dark magic, a flame-haired woman looked out of the icy bars of her prison. Her face was etched with worry as she turned to her husband. “Oh, Magnus. Do you think our girls will be able to find the orbs and restore the Lights?”

He squeezed her shoulder. “We must have faith, Freya. If anyone can defeat the Shadow Witch, it is our daughters.” He kissed her forehead. “They have their mother’s determination – they will never give up.”

She shot him a weak smile. “They have their father’s courage too. But their magical powers have only just awakened. It could take them many months to learn how to control them. My sister grows stronger by the day. She longs for power and if she finds the orbs first—” She broke off with a cry and doubled over.

“What is it, Freya?” asked Magnus, grabbing her hand.

“She … she is using spells to try to take my magic. I can feel it!” Freya gasped. Her face creased up in pain.

“Keep fighting her, my love,” Magnus begged. “We must give our girls time to restore the Everchanging Lights to the island.”

A triumphant laugh echoed through their prison. “Give in, sister!” a voice hissed through the air. “You will never manage to keep your powers from me. I will take them.”

“No!” Freya forced herself upright, her emerald eyes flashing. “I will not let you, Veronika. You must not be allowed to harm Nordovia!”

“You have no choice in the matter,” snapped the voice of her sister, the Shadow Witch. Her form gradually emerged from a dark corner and she strode over to a smooth sheet of ice on the floor. She closed her eyes and began to chant strange words. Images appeared on the surface of the ice.

Veronika cackled. “My magic allows me to spy on your darling daughters.” She paused, glaring at Freya. “And I will destroy them without ever having to leave your side, dear sister! Nobody is going to stop me. Soon the magic of the Everchanging Lights will belong to me!” Her laugh rang out, rising in volume, echoing round and round the icy prison. Then she trained the full force of her powerful magic upon her sister.

Freya, with a scream of pain, crumpled to the floor.

Chapter One

Hanna Aurora gazed into the snow globe that stood on a table in the centre of her and her sisters’ bedchamber. Her emerald-green eyes were reflected back at her from its glass. Start to glow, oh, please start to glow, she thought longingly.

Inside the globe, soft white snowflakes swirled around a crystal-clear waterfall that fell endlessly into an icy sea. Pink light flickered softly through the snowflakes, lighting the globe. It was beautiful. Hanna and her sisters, Ida and Magda, had always loved the snow globe, but it had become even more precious to them since their parents had been trapped by the Shadow Witch. Now it was the only way their mother could talk to them. Twice since she had been imprisoned her image had appeared in the globe and twice she had given the girls advice. But her magic was fading fast.

Hanna itched with impatience. She wanted their mother to speak to them again. So much had happened in the last few days! The girls’ evil aunt was desperate to steal the power of the Everchanging Lights. But their mother had used magic to contain the Lights inside three glass orbs – one pink, one blue and one purple – and hidden them around the island to protect them from the Shadow Witch. The girls had already found the pink orb despite their aunt’s attempts to stop them. If they could only find the blue and purple orbs too, they would be able to rescue their parents and restore peace to Nordovia.

Hanna gazed at the snow globe and remembered all that had happened. Just five days ago, she and her sisters had journeyed into the forest to find the pink orb. A giant wolf, sent by the Shadow Witch, had attacked them, but they had fought it off and brought the orb safely home. It had been an amazing adventure! The orb containing the pink Everchanging Light had been placed inside the snow globe to keep it safe.

We will get the blue and purple orbs, vowed Hanna, her mouth setting in a determined line. We will free the Lights and rescue Mother and Father.

She jumped to her feet. “Oh, I can’t bear this any longer!” She pushed her hands through her choppy red hair. “We’ve got to do something. We can’t just sit around waiting for Mother to talk to us.”

Her sisters looked up. Ida was sitting on her bed, sketching as usual, while Magda was stroking Oskar, their pet polar bear cub, who was snoozing on the floor next to her. Although the girls were triplets they were very different! Ida was thoughtful and a little shy, and loved nothing more than painting or sketching. Magda was a good problemsolver and adored animals of all shapes and sizes, from the smallest butterfly to the largest polar bear. And Hanna was always on the move – keen to try something new and have an adventure! She found all of this waiting very difficult.

“Hanna, we’ve talked about this,” said  Ida, pushing her blonde plait back over her shoulder. The triplets had the same green eyes but their hair was different – Hanna’s was the deep red of autumn leaves, Ida’s was honey blonde and Magda’s was the dark brown of chocolate. “We have to wait until Mother finds a way to contact us again, otherwise we won’t know where to look for the other orbs. We can’t just rush off without knowing where we have to go.”

“Why not?” demanded Hanna.

“Because it’s not sensible,” said Ida.

“So? It would be better than sitting round here having lessons with Madame Olga. We should be trying to save Nordovia!”

“We need guidance,” Ida said. “A clue at least.”

“Ida’s right, Hanna,” Magda put in. “We can’t do anything until we get another message from Mother.”

Hanna stamped her foot in frustration. “I can’t believe you two! It’s going to be the Day of the Midnight Sun in less than two weeks’ time.” She paced around the chamber. “If we don’t find the remaining orbs by then, Aunt Veronika’s powers will be strong enough to summon them to her. And then she’ll rule Nordovia, and destroy everything! And what about Mother and Father? Don’t you want to rescue them?”